P-36A Hawk, Pearl Harbor, Liut. Rasmussen 1/72

[Marco1965]

Liut. Rasmussen´s P-36A Hawk role during the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941, is less known than Welch´s and Taylors in their P-40, nevertheless as heroic as theirs.  Already an obsolete aircraft by then, the P-36A was armed only with one 0.50"and one 0.30" cal MGs.  Without entering into details, Rasmussen managed to shoot down a Japanese Zero, after which he got riddled with bullets from several other Zeros, but managing to land by pure miracle (the P-36 was trashed afterwards).  There is only one known picture of Rasmussen´s P-36, taken right after the battle, showing part of the damage (but not the complete aircraft).

   I chose the A-Z Models P-36A 1/72 kit, at first glance quite good, fine recessed panel lines, decent cockpit, clear parts little bit thick but ok, option to make a P-75 as well, good engine detail, decals for the Hawk that I want to assemble, etc.

 

   I first worked on the machinegun panels on the wings, the kit has the wings of the version armed with 4x0.30" MGs, while the P-36A didn´t have any MGs in the wings.  I filled the panel lines and ejection ports with CA Tamiya´s Gray putty and sanded smooth.

 

   The first unexpected issue came up when trying to join the upper-lower wing halves, as there was not enough space between the wings for the wheel wells parts.  Maybe I did something wrong, the instruction don´t mention anything about orientation or differences (same number) between the round parts but I noticed later that they have molded an “L" and "R" and an arrow signaling… God knows what.  Of course Murphy attacked and dumped my 50% chance of gluing them in the correct place.  Well, I sanded them down until they fit.

 

 

I sanded the rear edge of the parts, the wing halves fit without issues afterwards.

Solved!

 

The "bulges" in front of the wheel wells proved to be another troublesome area, as they end up pretty square shaped after assembling the wing halves.  I had to reshape them with putty and CA.

 

The engine looks nice, although the magnetos above the crankcase of the P&W R-1830 shouldn´t be there…  I added some wiring.

 

 

The firewall was quite larger than the space inside of the fuselage, required some trimming here and there until it fit.

 

I glued some tabs to the fuselaje halves for better guidance when gluing.

 

Cockpit looks good out of the box, I only added the seat belts.  Instrument panel does only provide recessed circles as instruments, I used artis oils to paint them. 

 

 

I preferred to paint the interior aluminum, I know there is an eternal discussion about the color, whether aluminum or some kind of green.  Without any concrete proof in favor of any version, I chose aluminum.

 

And this is when I realized that it wouldn´t be easy… 

 

Wings to fuselage fit… not too good, required lots of sanding and later putty.

 

I like propellers to spin, thus I added an axe to the propeller, and opened the hole through the engine for the axe to fit through.

 

 

I added a plate inside the cowl that hides the area where the machineguns extensions run back into the fuselage, looks pretty unrealistic leaving it open without any barrels there to see.

 

 

After applying putty and sanding, it looked better.   Cowl was really difficult to trim, I lost the detail around the machinegun fairings, difficult to recover. I separated the elevators to drop them.  Ready for Mr Surfacer!

 

I use Mr Surfacer 1200, applied with airbrush, there were no severe flaws.

 

Alclad Gloss Black base.

 

And a nice Alclad Duraluminum coat.  

 

 

   And this is where I am currently.  Next will be applying a slightly different aluminum shade to control surfaces, antiglare panel and then decals!

 

Marco

Edited November 23, 2019 by Marco1965

[Jackson Duvalier]

Thanks for sharing this.  In spite of the fit issues, you've turned it out well.

 

I've been curious about this kit, it's good to get a firsthand build report.  The old Heller and Monogram kits are, well, old.

[Marco1965]

Hi Jackson, AZ seems to be the better one, although I base my perception on internet kit reviews only.  Fine recessed panel lines is a big plus, definitely!

 

marco

[billn53]

Exceptional work so far!

[woody37]

Wow, that doesn't look like it falls together, but you've beaten it in to submission so far

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

5 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

The old Heller and Monogram kits are, well, old.

Yes they're old but still buildable. Ive got a heller kit for the Heller group build. Sadly the decals are moldy so I'm searching for spares either P-36, Mohawk, or Finnish Hawk 75. Im considering buying one of these just for the decals. Id still build it of course but use the extra decals for the heller. 

[Jackson Duvalier]

1 hour ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Yes they're old but still buildable. Ive got a heller kit for the Heller group build. Sadly the decals are moldy so I'm searching for spares either P-36, Mohawk, or Finnish Hawk 75. Im considering buying one of these just for the decals. Id still build it of course but use the extra decals for the heller. 

I've got a Heller H-75 still sealed in plastic, no box-- got it from a bargain bin for a song.  Transfers for a French aircraft look pretty good, but I do American subjects.  If you want 'em I can mail them to you.

[Thom216]

Nice bit of plastic massaging going on there! More than just the paint is shiny on this one!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

51 minutes ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

I've got a Heller H-75 still sealed in plastic, no box-- got it from a bargain bin for a song.  Transfers for a French aircraft look pretty good, but I do American subjects.  If you want 'em I can mail them to you.

P/M inbound. 

[Courageous]

Nice work with well thought out corrections. 

 

Stuart

[Marco1965]

I had been waiting to applying the colorful markings to Rasmussen´s P-36.  First I painted the antiglare panel using a mix of Dark green with Matt Black (5:1) as I read somewhere.  I progressively applied three different shades of aluminum to represent different panels, nothing too contrasting nor exaggerated.

 

   Wheel wells were painted to simulate canvas.   I will not install the exhaust fairings as in all the pictures of P-36A operating in Hawaii around that time, they did not use them, the exhaust tubes protruding directly down from the cowl.

   

I used Starfighter "Pearl Harbor Defenders" decals, excellent, only issue I had was with the rudder decal, evidently the profile of AZ models is different than that of the decal, therefore some trimming and retouching was necessary.  The markings look fantastic on the aluminum finish! 

 

 

 

   As you might know, there are not too many references of Rasmussen´s P-36A, basically the rare available pictures show the rear fuselage from the number 86 and back, nothing else is know of the paint scheme of his P-36A, therefore everything else is inferred from other P-36 of around that era, including antiglare panel and markings, and cowl color.  And propeller markings as well.  The ones provided by Starfighter decals are commonly seen in the first P-36s, but I have not seen them on operational ones,  anyway, they look like Johnny Walker stickers, I like them!

 

And finally the bunch of parts remaining to be glued in place.  The wheel well doors need some work, all of them, the inner face has to be trimmed to make them thinner in order to have a proper fit, specially the big side covers.  But nothing out of this world, they look good.  I flattened the tires a bit using heat.

Marco

[John Masters]

Damn!  I always forget how those pre-conflict aircraft were so beautiful before they painted them all drab and camouflaged.  I have built enough of them.  Yours is lovely.  Superb NMF.

[Courageous]

Very nicely painted and the scheme looks great.

 

Stuart

[Marco1965]

I assembled the landing gear, quite complicated for such a small aircraft.  Some trimming was necessary to make the doors fit properly.  Brake lines were issued with thin wire, and I substituted the retraction arms with evergreen strips thinner than the parts provided in the kit.

Fitting te lateral covers proved to be challenging.  In the real P-36, the tires are pretty close to the covers, this was not the case with the kit where there was a significant gap between tire and cover.  I trimmed the struts and the inner side of the covers to improve it.  

 

Te result is quite acceptable. 

 

Another thing that I modified, was the exhaust fairings.  The P-36A has aerodynamic fairings covering the engine exhausts.  But in several pictures from Pearl Harbor, the fairings have been discarded leaving the naked exhausts exposed.  And the exhaust profile is quite curious as you can see in this reference picture:

 

I issued the exhausts using soldering wire, trimming to proper shape.

 

Quite satisfied with the resujlts.

 

I started working on the base, I want to show the moment when Liut Rasmussen reaches his plane, which is in among other damaged planes, some debris around.  

 

Liut Rasmussen starting to take shape (Hasegawa)

 

Marco

[Courageous]

The 'Hawk' looks stunning and the fig is taking shape too.

 

Stuart

[Fin]

On 12/24/2019 at 5:51 PM, Marco1965 said:

Wheel wells were painted to simulate canvas.   I will not install the exhaust fairings as in all the pictures of P-36A operating in Hawaii around that time, they did not use them, the exhaust tubes protruding directly down from the cowl.

   

 

What paint did you use for the wheel wells?

 

Awesome model btw!

[Jackson Duvalier]

That's a pretty bird you've built, Marco. 😎

[Marco1965]

On 1/6/2020 at 12:49 PM, Fin said:

What paint did you use for the wheel wells?

 

Awesome model btw!

I just mixed approx.  1:1 Olive Drab and Dark Tan.   Canvas can show such a wide range of tones, depending upon production, weathering, age, etc.  

 

marco 

[Marco1965]

Clear parts are not the best of the kit, definitely.  Although they are clear and thin enough, fitting of the windshield and both clear parts behind the cockpit are a challenge.  After trimming as much as I could, I masked and painted the clear parts with Alclad Aluminum.  You have to bore a hole on the left rear clear part, matching the fuel tank cap.  It is a pity that, as in other kits, the windshield is molded with two vertical braces on the outside front.  In reality, the windshield on the P-36A did not have such a frame, what it had, similar to the P-40B/C, was a joint of the three-parts plexiglass windshield, barely noticeable from the outside.  And on the inside (not outside, inside) it had two thin tie-rods, that give the impression of the windshield having a frame in front, which it doesn´t.  I simply painted on the inside the tie-rods, simulating them with think aluminum lines.

 

 

I glued the clear parts using Kristal Klear, starting with the two back lateral parts.  Then the windshield which left significant gaps mostly on the sides.  The sliding canopy will be glued later, it is the only part that fits perfectly!

 

The hole that I bored open on the left rear clear part fit perfectly the fuel cap.  This is a delicate task, would have prefered the kit to provide the part with the hole already open.

 

This is how the canopy will be displayed on the diorama, as Rasmussen will be about to climb into the cockpit.  Notice that I glued the headrest in place, too.  I have the doubt about the external iron sights being installed in these P-36s.  They had the primitive reflection gunsight already, and there is not a single picture of the P-36 in Hawaii, showing the ironsights installed.  Just wondering, maybe I will install them anyway as they look so nice!

 

And continued working on Rasmussen´s figure, + a ground crew that will be doing something, I still don´t know.

 

Marco

[Marco1965]

According to interview with Liut. Rasmussen, when he ran to the flight line during the Pearl Harbor attack:  "... there were a few P-36s that were closer to me, … And I ran down to one of those, and jumped into that plane… and then an armorer came over with a belts of thirty caliber and fifty caliber ammunition on his shoulder, then jumped on the wing. … and I taxied towards the revetments."  

 

   Well that scene, which was the real one, is much more exciting than just having the ground crew running around the P-36!!!

   I used a couple of PE ammo belts, glued them on the shoulders of the ground crew (who was supposed to be doing something else, kind of running), and changed his position from "running" to "climbing" on to the wing by stepping first on the tire, which is what I think would have happened.  

 

 

   Now the only pending thing is Rasmussen´s figure, which… I had to strip off paint ´cause I used the wrong color for the pijama, a pity, going for the second try!

 

Marco

Edited February 7, 2020 by Marco1965

[StephenCJ]

Very NICE Marco.

[Vesa Jussila]

Very realistic end result.

 

 

[Marco1965]

Well I think that this one is already cooked!  The last thing that was keeping me from finishing was the figure of Liut Rasmussen.  I finished modifying the Hasegawa ground crew figure and obtained a decent looking figure standing on the wing about to enter the cockpit.  But that was not the difficult part.

Since I saw the way that it is represented at the National Museum of the USAF, in Ohio, with the striped pijamas, well, I wanted to have striped pijamas on my 1/72 Liut Rasmussen.  Easier said than done.  The only way that I found to paint decent stripes, was using artist oils, and you know how much those ones take to dry!  Painted first white, let dry, painted then a mix resembling the pinkish-brown-grey pijama, and I touched the figure before they had dry completely, and it was a mess, and tried to retouch, another mess, and had to repaint it, and the pinkish-brown stripes were in the wrong color, etc, etc.  But here it is.  I used  mix of artist oils to paint Rasmussens figure, and glued it to the P-36 only by it's left hand to the rim of the cockpit.

 

 

   In 1/72 it was really challenging.

 

Then I proceeded to put all the elements together on the base, I finished the wheel chocks, airbrushed some dullcote on the tarmack to hide any bright glue spots, applied another dull coat to Rasmussen´s figure.  Bent a little bit the ammo belts around the armorer´s neck to give the impression of movement,, and this is the result.

 

 

 

   Really enjoyed the history behind this subject, as much as assembling the P-36.

Marco

[StephenCJ]

BRILLIANT Marco.  Rasmussen is the best.

 

Stephen

[James G]

Wow great dio and an interesting story!